Valve construction



March 11, l1958 s. D. BARLow ETAL 2,326,218

VALVE' CONSTRUCTION Y l V` v Filed pot. 2.- 1955 2 sheets;ghe@1,"v

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2 vSheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent O VALVE CONSTRUCTION Sidney D. Barlow, Mount Vernon, N. Y., and Arrigo Varettoln de Molin, Parkk Ridge, N. J.

Application October 2, 1953, Serial No. 383,855

4 Claims. (Cl. IS7-614.11)

This invention relates generally to the tield of valve construction, and more particularly to an improved form thereof, particularly adapted for periodic equalization of pressure inside a closed container with that of the atmosphere about the container.

It is among the principal objects of the present invennon to provide valve structure of this type which may be expediently and conveniently manually manipulated by the user of a container or dispensing device.

Another object of the invention lies in the provision of a ball valve structure of the above-mentioned type which may include structure capable of sealing an opening simultaneously at a plurality of locations, thereby assuring a substantially leakproof closure,

Still another object of the invention lies in av provision of a double valve capable of adjusting pneumatic pressure differentials in which the cost of fabrication may be of a relatively low order, with consequent wide sale, distribution and use.

A further object of the invention lies in the provision of manually operatedy pneumatic valve structure in which the number of moving. parts has been reduced to a minimum, thereby assuring that the device may have a relatively long, trouble free life.

A feature of the invention liesy in the fact that in one embodiment thereof, only one resilient member is required in the entire structure of the valve, although seals are effected at a plurality of locations within the valve.

These objects and' features, as well as other incidental ends and advantages, will become more clearly apparent duringk the course of thefollowing disclosure, and be pointed out in the appended claims.

On the drawing, to which reference will be made in the speciiication, similar reference characters have been employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Figure l is a fragmentary vertical sectional View, partly in elevation, showing a rst embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, corresponding to that seen on Figure l, showing an altered relative position of the parts comprising the embodiment.

Figure 3 is a View in perspective showing the operation of the valve structure which comprises the embodiment.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view show ing a second embodiment of the invention.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view of a third embodiment of the invention.

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view of the third embodiment, showing an altered relative position of the component parts thereof.

In accordance with the irst embodiment of the invention, the device, generally indicated by reference character 10, comprises broadly: a main body element 14 and a valve element 16, the device 10 being shown in conjunction with a ball point marking device 12, which' 1s merely exemplary of one of many applications in which the device may be used. n

The main body element 14 is generally cylindrical in ICC configuration, and includes a lower horizontally disposed surface 18,` a vertically disposed threaded surface 20` engageable with the upper portion of the marking device 12, av knurled surface 22 to facilitate the engagement of the same, and an upper generally tapering surface 24. A concentrically dispo-sed bore 26 extends entirely through the main body element 14, and when the device 10 is installed upon the device 12, the upper end 28 of the bore 26 is exposed to the ambient air.

'Il-1e bore 26 includes an upper generally cylindrically shaped portion 30, a frusto conical portion 32, and a lower generally cylindrical portion 34,` of a diameter substantially less than the portion 30. Disposed in the portion. 30 is a valve seat insert 36, preferably of a relatively soft metal such as copper or brass. The valve seat insertincludes a` crowned member 38, as well as a tubular member 40 adapted to be forceably fitted against the surface of the cylindrically shaped portion 30 of the bore 26. At the lower terminal of the tubular member 40 is an annular surface 42 of substantial area.

The valve element 16 includes an upper substantially ballshaped member 40 and a` lower substantially ballshapedy member 48` joined' by 'a exibl'e interconnecting member S0. As may be seen on Figures 1- and 2, the interconnecting member is formed from ball chain or similar stock itemsv to include a` plurality of small ballshaped members 52 interconnected by short shafts 54.

The upper ball member 40 is provided with a bore or socket 56 extending inwardly` from the surface thereof, the bore 56 being headed over fat 58 to securely grip the uppermost ball 52, and provide a swivel action to the member S2. The lower ball member 48 is also provided with a bore or socket 60 which preferably extends diametrically through the same, and the lowermost ball 62 is secured therein by heading over a portion of the bore -60 atpoints indicated by reference lcharacter 64.

A conically shaped, concentrically disposed coil spring 66 is disposed within the bore 26, the lower end of which is adapted to bear upon the surface of the lower ballshaped member 48 and the upper end 70 of which` is adapted to contact the surface 42. As may be seen on Figures l and 2, the lower ball-shaped member 48 has a sliding tit within the lower cylindrical portion 34 of the bore 26 so that expansion of the spring 66 will tend to force the ball-shaped member 48 through the portion 34 o in av downwardly direction until the interconnecting member has become taut and draws the upper ball-shaped member 40 against the crown member 38 of the valve seat insert 36. In this position (shown on Figure l), the bore 26 is substantially sealed at both the crown member 38 and the lower cylinder portion 34 by the ball-shaped members 40 and 48.

To open the valve 10, it is necessary only to grasp the container with which the same is associated in the fingers of one hand and push the upper ball member 40 from engagement with the crowned member 38 by means of the thumb. This motion simultaneously opens the bore 2.6 at both the upper and lower ends and allows atmospheric pressure to reach the contents of the device 12. Upon release of the upper ball-shaped member 46, the sprlng 66 returns the device 10 to the position shown on Figure l. u

Turning now to the second embodiment of the invention, as shown on Figure 4, parts corresponding to those of the lirst embodiment of the invention have been designated by similar reference characters with the additional suiiix prime The second embodiment of the invention diters from the first embodiment principally in the shape of the lower portion of the bore 26'. In the second embodiment the lower cylindrical portion 34 is eliminated and the lower ball-shaped member 48 engages the spherically shaped socket 80. Since the engagement of the lower ballshaped member 48 is not a sliding fit, it is necessary to provide means for assuring that both the lower ball-shaped member 48 and the upper ball-shaped member 40' will simultaneously engage their respective seats. To this end, the interconnecting member 50 is in the form of a short length of cable, and the socket 56r-is' enlarged to permit the enclosure of a small coil spring 84. The spring 84 having a much lower modulus of elasticity as compared with the spring 66', is adapted to take up any slack in the member 50 after the seating of the lower ball-shaped member 48 upon the seat 80'. ln other respects, the second embodiment of the invention is substantially similar to the first embodiment of the invention, and the mode of operation is identical.

Turning now to the third embodiment of the invention, parts corresponding to those of the first and second embodiments have been designated by similar reference characters, with the additional suffix double prime The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment principally in the incorporation of a spherically shaped valve seat 30" similar to the seat 80' of the second embodiment, and the provision of an auxiliary spring 90, which engages a portion of the interconnecting member 50, to resiliently foreshorten the effective length of the same when in an unstressed condition. As may be seen on Figures 5 and 6, the spring 90 is provided with relatively smaller convolutions thereon at the upper and lower ends 92 and 94 thereof, which are adapted to engage a pair of individual balls 52". The modulus of the spring 90 is substantially less than that of the spring 66, so that when the upper ball member 40" is manually moved, the element 16" will become taut to cause the lower ball member 48" to be dislodged from its seat 80".

It may thus be seen that we have invented novel and highly useful improvements in double valve structure, in which there are provided a plurality of valve seats and valve members cooperating in series to assure an effective pneumatic seal. The device is so constructed that the valve may be readily opened by the thumb of a user, and upon release of the pressure exerted by the thumb, resilient means quickly returns the valve to a closed position. Although we have chosen to show the specific ernbodiments of the invention for use in conjunction with a ball-type marking device, it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that the same has a wide variety of applications and uses in diversified fields.

We wish it to be understood that we do not consider the invention limited to the exact details of structure shown and set forth, as obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains.

We claim:

l. Valve construction comprising: a tube having a bore disposed therein, said bore having a first opening of first given diameter forming a first valve seat, and a second opening of a second diameter substantially smaller than said first opening forming a second valve seat; a first valve member disposed at least partially externally of said bore, and adapted to engage said first valve seat, and a second valve member of over-all configuration smaller than said first given diameter, but larger 'than said second given diameter, and adapted to be disposed within said bore, and engageable with said second valve seat; contractile means interconnecting said first and second valve members, and resilient means serving to urge said second valve member to an engaged position with respect to said second valve seat.

2. Valve construction comprising: a tube having a bore disposed therein, said bore having a first opening of first given diameter forming a first valve seat, and a second opening of a second diameter substantially smaller than said first opening forming a second valve seat; a first valve member disposed at least partially externally of said bore, and adapted to engage said first valve seat, and a second valve member of over-all configuration smaller than said rst given diameter, but larger than said second given diameter, and adapted to be disposed within said bore, and engageable with said second valve seat; contractile means interconnecting said first and second valve members, and resilient means serving to urge said second valve member to an engaged position with respect to said second valve seat; said first and second valve members being substantially spherically-shaped, whereby said iirst valve member may be manually engaged to substantially simultaneously unseat said first and second valve members from engagement with said first and second Valve seats, respectively.

3. Structure according to claim 2, in which the contractile means includes a substantially non-expansible cable and a compressible spring, said spring being disposed within said first valve member.

4. Structure according to claim 1, in which the contractile means includes a flexible linked chain, and resilient means to shorten the distance between a plurality of adjacent links, whereby the length of said chain may be resiliently varied.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 564,209 Meins `luly 2l, 1896 2,068,266 Engel Jan, 19, 1937 2,105,709 Violette Ian. 18, 1938 2,584,716 Koppel Feb. 5, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 132,257 Germany of 1902 

